Appeal No. 2004-2312 Page 4
Application No. 10/135,517
will usually be the most common jacks on the market.
However, the openings on the symbolized face plate (40a)
are configured, so that the greatest variety of connectors or
jacks can be installed with the assistance of adaptor plates
(58), so that the user is thereby given the option of largely
selecting and installing or retrofitting those connectors which
meet his needs. For this case, various adaptor plates and
jacks with cables and also plastic front covers with various
punched out openings are produced and kept in stock
[translation, page 12].
From our perspective, the arrangement illustrated by Schubring in Figures 9 and
16 and discussed on page 12 of the translation differs from the systems of appellant’s
independent claims 20, 30, 38, 41, 44 and 56 in that Schubring’s adaptor plates 58,
which otherwise correspond structurally to the frames of the first ends of the cables2 of
Schubring’s claims, are not provided with edges or tongues for sliding engagement in
slots or in corresponding opposed grooves and Schubring’s face plate 40a lacks slots
for removable sliding receipt of the edges or tongues. Schubring discloses engagement
of the adaptor plate 58 with the face plate in alignment with the opening in the face plate
using screws, rather than a sliding tongue and groove arrangement as called for in
appellant’s claims.
Volansky, however, evidences that it was well known in the art at the time of
appellant’s invention to mount multimedia connectors on slides for engagement with the
housing of a surface mount multimedia outlet, i.e., an enclosure for organizing and
managing cables and connections. The mounts, or bezels, for the connectors include
2 The recitation in appellant’s claim 30 of the first ends of the cables having opposite edges having
respective tongues is sufficiently broad to encompass either a unitary or a multi-piece integral
arrangement of the cable and the element bearing the tongues.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007